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Tyrannosaurus
Tyrannosaurus was the largest of the Tyrannosaurid Theropods, and, for ninety years, was believed to have been the largest terrestrial carnivore ever to exist. This claim was proven true by the discovery of Giganotosaurus, which beat T''. ''rex in length, though not in weight, and possibly by Spinosaurus, which may or may not have been longer and heavier than the two previous carnivores. Tyrannosaurus has been found in Latest Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) strata across the western United States, Canada, and maybe in the future Africa. and was one of the last dinosaurs to become extinct. The Tyrannosaurus is probably the most well-known dinosaur, ranging from toys to television shows. It is celebrated as "the King of Dinosaurs". Maybe in the future Africa theory means that the T-rex vs Spinosaurus fight is possible!!!!!! Bite Strength Recent estimates based on computer models, scale models of skulls, and comparisons with living animals suggest T-rex had one of the strongest bites of any animal. Experiments conducted by Dr. Gregory Erickson when he was a graduate student at the University of California (Berkeley) determined that a minimum of 1,440 pounds of pressure from its front teeth alone could put a 11.5 mm-deep hole in bone, while 3,011 pounds of pressure came from its back teeth. The strength of the bite may have been as much as four tons or more, according to Dr. Eric Snively of the University of Alberta, who discovered the significance of fused nasal bones unique to T-rex. "Fused, arch-like nasal bones are a unique feature of tyrannosaurids," he said. "This adaptation, for instance, was keeping the T. rexes from breaking their own skull while breaking the bones of their prey." A fused nasal bone channels the force of the bite from the skull to the prey item; this, with the combination of extremely-powerful neck muscles, convinced Dr. Snively and his colleagues that an adult T-rex could potentially use 200,000 newtons of force when pulling meat off a carcass. In 1995 a coprolite (fossilized dung) was discovered near Eastend, Saskatchewan, and determined to have been from a T-rex based on the size as well as the bone fragments within from a Triceatops, leading scientists to speculate that the power of a T-rex bite could shatter bone. Discovery While, in 1892, Edward Drinker Cope described the first known Tyrannosaurus skeleton as Manospondylus, this is considered a Nomen oblitum. Barnum Brown's 1900 discovery of "Dynamosaurus imperiosus," now called Tyrannosaurus rex, Tyrannosaurus' type species. He found two more specimens, in 1902 and 1905. Tarbosaurus was at one point considered a second species of Tyrannosaurus, but was later reclassified. Description Tyrannosaurus had an average length of 39-65 feet(12-20 meters). "T''. ''rex" was 9-20 feet(2-6m) high at the hips and 15-50(4-15m) feet tall at the highest point of its head. Though "T. rex's" bones were hollow it's weight was 5136-7731 kilograms4- 20 tons (7,000-21,000 pounds) Tyrannosaurus' head was definitely its most outstanding feature, measuring 5.6-6 feet long. It had a narrow snout, allowing binocular vision. Its jaw was U-shaped and housed numerous teeth, the largest of which measured about 5(12.5 cm)-13(32.5 cm1 foot), the largest of any carnivorous dinosaur's teeth. Its neck formed an S-shaped curve like other theropods, but was short and muscular to support the massive head. Its forelimbs were short, bearing only two large digits, but on small digit on each of it's arms. In contrast, its hind limbs were very long and bore four digits on each foot. T. rex's tail was heavy and long, containing about forty vertebrae, in order to balance its massive head and body. To make up for the immense mass of the animal, many of T. rex's bones were hollow, reducing its weight without significant loss of strength.T.rex was once though to be able to run at 40 mph, but later studies probed that while adolescents may have been able to reach this speed, an adult would have been to heavy, and more likely a speed of 27-40 kph. With the discovery of feathered dinosaurs, and the connection between tyrannosaurs and coleurosaurs (group of dinosaurs that included Velociraptor and Troodon) some images of Tyrannosaurus show it having minor feathering. While proto-feathers are present in primitive tyrannosaurs, such as Guanlong, the debate of whether the larger species had feathers continued. It is agreed that hatchlings and younger individuals likely had feathers, but it is unclear if adults would have had any feathers as well. Eating Habits There has been ongoing debate as to how T. rex found its food. Most people believe it was a predator, hunting down and killing its food in the same way lions do. However, some believe it was a scavenger, as evidenced by its large olfactory bulbs (which indicate a phenomenal sense of smell). The best possible conclusion is that Tyrannosaurus was both a predator and a scavenger, depending on what happened around the Tyrannosaurus. The reason for this conclusion is that it's huge size makes it hungry most of the time. For example, if a Tyrannosaurus ran into a triceratops carcus, It would eat it because it is easier when you don't have to work for your food. The concept that makes T-rex so deadly is that it had huge jaws that had banana sized teeth. This made Tyrannosaurus different from most predators. These teeth helped to crush bone. The average bite force of Tyrannosaurus Rex astounded scientists when they used calculations from crocodile bite forces to find out that Tyrannosaurus had a bite force of 3 tons(5,000 lbs) to 900,000 tons(? lbs). This tremendous amount of force is enough to bite through a steel oil drum. One theory is that Tyrannosaurs had a mouth full of deadly bacteria other than its bone-crushing pair of jaws which helped it kill prey. This could have been possible if you consider the predatory theory. Also Tyrannosaurs could probably use hunting tactics which required lunging at prey from short distances and then crushing them with its jaws.It also could break bones with it's tail,teeth and claws. Taxonomy Tyrannosaurus has numerous relatives. Daspletosaurus, ''Albertosaurus'', and ''Tarbosaurus'', are all apart of the Tyrannosaur family. The earliest known Tyrannosaurs were actually small hunters. Of all it's relatives, Daspletosaurus is believed to be the direct ancestor of T- rex, ''due to its very similar appearance. The skull of a small tyrannosaur, Nanotyrannus, found in North or South Dakota, was later proved to be from an adolescent T.rex. In the Media Tyrannosauruses are one of if not the most common dinosaurs found in the media. Movies such as King Kong (2005 film) have also displayed the evolution of ''T. rex. In King Kong it was known as Vastatosaurus rex. Besides documentaries, it is in major titles including The Land Before Time, King Kong, and both the book and movie version of Jurassic Park. In most of the media (besides documentaries) its size and speed are commonly exaggerated greatly. In most movies, tyrannosaurs also kill for no reason. T. rex as portrayed in Meet the Robinsons eason or keep eating unrealistic amounts of food. In Jurassic Park, Tyrannosaurus is shown more accurately than other films from its discovery, but throughout the film (which was based on the book from Michael Crichton), it is constantly stated than'' T''. rex couldn't see anything that didn't move, a currently unproven theory. It also appears in the movie Land of the Lost (2009 film) with a higher intelligence than in other movies. Aftermath has BEGUN!!!!!!!!!!!!! Trivia *Paleontologist James Farlow calculated the number of lawyers a grown Tyrannosaurus had to eat (based on a scene from the movie Jurassic Park, in which a lawyer became T. rex fodder) to stay alive. Taken an average weight of 68 kilograms, 292 lawyers would be needed to keep one T. rex happy for a year!